Permanent magnets have been used for many years and for many purposes. However, new applications of permanent magnets are driving the development of increasingly sophisticated permanent magnet assemblies.
A permanent magnet assembly that can produce a periodic high amplitude magnetic field intensity across a gap is of particular interest. For example, such a permanent magnet assembly can be used to apply a time-varying magnetic field to magnetocaloric materials. Magnetocaloric materials near a transition from a ferromagnetic state to a paramagnetic state will warm when magnetized and cool when demagnetized. This property can be used to provide heating or cooling, for example in a magnetic refrigerator.